


I'm Sorry

by zephsomething



Series: Surviving the War [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 03:10:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13158009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephsomething/pseuds/zephsomething
Summary: Malfoy decides it's about time he meets the family that got burned off his family tree.





	I'm Sorry

**Author's Note:**

> whoops I'm posting late again, Happy winter festivities kids!

Draco almost talked himself out of it, standing on the street outside of his aunt’s house, almost convinced himself that he didn’t need to say anything to her. Then he remembered the look on his mother’s face when she’d happened across a photograph the other day, three little girls sitting so still the photo almost didn’t look real except that he could recognize his mother’s sharp features and light hair on the smallest of the three. So he took a deep breath and went to knock on the door.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to come to the door.” His aunt said as she opened the door, a baby with bright pink hair and a tiny nose making noises that almost resembled words held on one hip.

“I uh,” all the clever things he’d intended to say fell away as he was confronted with the picture his aunt made holding the tiny child. “I’m sorry, for…”

“Would you like some tea?” She stepped aside so he could come in, walking off in the direction of the kitchen.

He closed the door behind him and looked around. The house was nothing like the mansion he and his mother lived in, comparatively it felt tiny. Draco took another breath before following the hallway his aunt had gone down. The kitchen was full of sunlight in a way that no part of his own home managed to be and the baby was giggling again from where he’d been put into a chair.

“I let my parents ideals lead my life and I never got the chance to know my cousin.” Draco said quietly as he saw his aunt at the counter using what had to be the muggle version of a kettle.

“You’re just a child Draco, or you were.” She looked at him before pulling out her wand and flicking it in his direction. Behind him he heard something that sounded like books being opened and then a dozen of them flew past him and settled themselves on the table. She nodded towards them. “Would you like to know your cousin?”

As he sat down the baby reached out towards the book, his babbles suddenly becoming more instant sounding as his fists opened and closed. “Mama, see mama, see see.”

“Teddy those are for Draco to look at, wait your turn.” His aunt chided the baby, Teddy, and dropped a bowl of shelled green beans in front of him.

Draco lifted the book that Teddy had been reaching towards and opened it up, leaving it sitting on the table so they could both see the moving pictures. The first photo was of a girl, who had to be his cousin, with bright pink hair standing next to a man that Draco realized with a start was Lupin, the werewolf who’d taught at hogwarts in his third year. The caption ‘Nymphadora Tonk & Remus Lupin, wedding day’ was scrawled underneath. Lupin looked almost worried but Nymphadora was clearly overjoyed. Beside that page was a photo of the two of them sitting beside a fireplace, clearly taken when they weren’t looking as even in the photo they were to busy staring at each other to notice the world around them. The next three pages were dedicated to several photos of Nymphadora getting gradually larger and the bags under Lupin’s eyes seemed to follow the same route. Then there was a picture of an ill looking Lupin standing beside Nymphadora while they both stared at a bundle she was holding. The rest of the album was empty and Draco felt his stomach drop as he looked at the blank page that followed.

“Ah, I haven’t managed to get any of the ones we’ve got of Teddy into that album yet.” His Aunt set a mug of tea in front of him and pulled the album towards her smiling softly at the photo. She tapped the photo near Lupin, who looked up with a sad sort of frown. “This poor boy spent more time worried than he ever did happy, especially in that last year.”

Draco just frowned at the album, rubbing at his arm and trying to deal with the guilt that boiled in his stomach.

“This one is my favourite.” She pulled an album out from the bottom of the stack and opened it to a photo of a girl whose nose kept changing and whose hair was bright buttercup yellow. She was waving out of the photo in robes that were clearly intended for her to grow into and a pointed hat that tilted at a dangerous angle, looking like it was about to fall off. “She had one of the older hufflepuffs take it for her the night she got sorted, sent it to us with a grouchy owl who would clearly have much rather stayed in the owlery.”

“She looks so small…” Draco reached out towards the photo and Nymphadora stuck her tongue out at him.

“Well she was only eleven, you can hardly blame her for being small.” Her aunt laughed and took a sip of her tea.

“I suppose not.” He nodded.

They spent the next few hours looking through photos while Teddy babbled and pointed and his Aunt kept up a quiet commentary on the colourful life her daughter and husband had built around themselves. Then she looked out the window at one point and made a thoughtful noise.

“Unless you intend to be here when Harry gets home I would suggest heading out.” She smiled at the way his eyes widened. “Feel free to come by again, I’ve heard you have a fair grasp of chess. It’s been awhile since I had a decent opponent.”

A thousand questions came to mind and died on his tongue as he looked at her knowing eyes. There was so much yellow in her house he’d almost forgotten for a moment that his aunt had lived for seven years in the same common room he had. Of course she’d figured out that he wasn’t sure yet how to deal with Harry Potter.  “I’ll do that.”


End file.
